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London Book Fair Recap, 2017

The sun shone brightly through the glass domes of Olympia last week, as the London Book Fair came to town. The weather was for once fresh and clear, but the general atmosphere seemed more changeable. While some publishers and agents were reporting enthusiastic offers and exciting auctions; others seemed more cautious, perhaps in light of Brexit and other market conditions. Overall it felt slightly less busy around the halls, but the buzz was still palpable.

London Book Fair is conducted in seven sections, each notionally devoted to different aspects of the publishing industry– trade, academic, tech support, remaindered books, etc – and seeing the sheer breadth of what is available is staggering. Whether you’re a new digital start up, an author wandering the halls trying to get publishers to buy his book, an auction being conducted for a hot debut, or a business meeting about meta-data provision, all publishing life seems to be there. It’s no wonder that everyone looks exhausted by Thursday afternoon.

At NetGalley, we love attending LBF – we’re lucky that we interact with so many publishers from so many different territories, and it was great to be able to catch up with so many of them. We also met with some new publishers, who hopefully will be joining us soon. But the Fair is more than just a series of meetings.

We also had some time to attend some of the many, many seminars and lectures that took place over the three days. Particularly of interest was the panel on the visual language of publishing. We learned a lot, especially from literary agent and former Marketing Manager of Foyle’s Bookshop, Julia Kingsford. Her top tips for social media were very instructive – you can read them here – but our favourite was this: always post your images and photos in landscape not portrait. That way everyone can see the full image, and there is less awkward cropping of the image!

As ever though, the best thing about the fair was hearing about all the books that will in around eighteen months (or even sooner) be finding their way on to NetGalley. We were most excited to hear that there’ll be a new Eleanor Catton novel, the first non-fiction book from Jarvis Cocker, and we’re already intrigued about the new Swedish crime sensation In The Mire by Susanne Jansson. We can’t wait for you to read them!

P.S. We look forward to doing it all over again at BookExpo & BookCon in NYC (June 1-4, booth #2015). Hopefully we will see you there!

London Book Fair Recap, 2016

The largely crisp and clear sunshine that illuminated the vast windowed ceilings of the London Book Fair at Olympia rather summed up the atmosphere of cautious optimism pervading the vast halls. Coming on the back of confirmation that there had been a rise in print book sales in the first quarter of 2016, it was time for confidence and in many cases, champagne.

Traditionally, the London Book Fair has been very much a trade event, with the focus on traditional publishers doing the deals which will become the big books over the next couple of years. Several of these were prominently reported, with the most talked-out being Chloé Esposito’s Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know trilogy – about an identical twin who takes over her sister’s more exciting life – which was sold to 12 territories for a reported £2million.

However, the fair remains home to all kinds of publishers and publishing, meaning that there were lots of informative and interesting seminars on all aspects of the writing life, as well as authors such as Julian Fellows, Judith Kerr, Howard Jacobson and Jeanette Winterson talking about their work. Independent authors were well catered for, and one enterprising publisher even had talent scouts wandering the halls on the lookout for authors who might just be the next big thing.

For NetGalley, it was similarly busy, with the highlight being the launch of NetGalley Global, celebrating our sites in English,French and German. It was great to meet with our existing clients and members alike, and as the fair wrapped up on Thursday we were all a little tired, but all very upbeat. We look forward to doing it all over again at BEA in Chicago (May 11-13, booth #DZ759). Hopefully we will see you there!

NetGalley goes to the London Book Fair!

The sun shone boldly on to the glass roof of Olympia, as the London Book Fair went back to the future last week. Moved from its recent home of Earls Court, the Fair relocated to its previous premises – with most of those present happy with the big, airy spaces and palpable buzz in the main hall. It took some getting used to – many people took a while to find their own stands, let alone other publishers! – but the overwhelming consensus was that this was a positive and exciting show.

Getting all of publishing together is a mammoth task, and it was fascinating to see, once again, how indie authors and publishers are increasingly taking this opportunity to draw attention to their books. There were many interesting talks and discussions going on at the Author HQ, as well as poetry, author interviews and a focus on work coming out of Mexico, the featured country this year.

There was no real book of the fair – one title that dominated rights deals from around the world – but all the publishers I talked to said that there were some really interesting titles being sold and discussed. Perhaps the biggest and most boisterous moment, however, was not in the deals being struck, but the appearance of Conchita Wurst at the John Blake stand. Apparently her appearance caused one high-profile book person to turn into a star-struck schoolboy!

As for NetGalley, we were very busy indeed, meeting with new and existing publishers. We also managed to sign a deal with a very exciting publisher, which will be announced soon – it’s a great addition to NetGalley’s UK portfolio, and one we know you will love.

Now that the stands have been taken down and the postcards and tote bags put in storage, it’s now all eyes on Book Expo America. Come and say hi at our booth between May 27 and May 29th!

If the atmosphere at this year’s London Book Fair was a little more subdued than 2013, it was probably due in part to this being the final time it will be held at the iconic Earls Court exhibition centre. It will be sorely missed when it is demolished to make way for more houses. But enough of nostalgia, the London Book Fair is all about the future – what is coming up and what is going to be hot in the forthcoming years. And there was lots of excitement around the halls.

There has been an appreciable but significant shift in perspective over the last year or so. Many people from all aspects of the industry appear to be more positive about the state of the bookworld. On the eve of the fair, Tom Weldon – CEO of Penguin Random House UK – challenged the nay-sayers and doom merchants, telling them that publishing was rude health rather than in deep decline. We shall see who was right!

There were some brilliant author talks – Jim Crace and Evie Wyld especially – as well as a huge array of industry panels and seminars. What was interesting to us at NetGalley was just how many of them were centred on book discovery, and how to get more people to find and recommend titles. This was also the subject of my presentation – Book Discoverability, what indie authors can teach mainstream publishers and vice versa – which was very well attended, despite taking place at 5.30pm when most people are usually in the bar!

There was no ‘book of the fair’ this year – the title that gets everyone talking and everyone’s chequebook out – which is usually a good sign. For me though, the great excitement is always walking through the halls finding out what is coming soon from both the big and the small publishers. The sight of new books by David Mitchell and Sarah Waters really caught my eye, as did a colouring book devoted to Benedict Cumberbatch – there really is every kind of book under the sun at LBF!

It was great to catch up with NetGalley publishers and show them the exciting developments planned for the site over the coming months, and as always, a delight to see so many NetGalley members there. I do hope to see you again next year –this time at Olympia!

Conference season is upon us! This week I will be at the ECPA Leadership Summit* for Christian publishers, in Nashville. I’m very excited to be meeting with some of the NetGalley publishers during the ECPA Leadership Summit this week and attending the 2013 Christian Book Awards.

The London International Book Fair is one of the key events in the literary world; the whole world converging on Earls Court in the South West of the capital to sell rights, seal reputations and look into the future of publishing and books. Naturally, NetGalley was there to meet members and clients both – as well as get the inside track on what’s new.

The NetGalley stand was right at the heart of the Digital Zone – once a niche area within the vast aircraft hangar space of Earls Court, but now probably the most vibrant, diverse and popular destination at the fair. Situated next to the AuthorZone lecture theatre – co-sponsored by NetGalley publisher Troubador – we were lucky to hear a series of fascinating discussions and talks about how writers can thrive in the digital age. Many independent publishers and authors stopped off to speak with us on their way back from the stage – which was hugely interesting.

Among the personal highlights were catching up with new and old publishers and members of NetGalley. We especially enjoyed meeting Georgia and Samuel from www.readgig.com – and you can check out their blog about the fair here. Most excitingly of all was the news that several UK publishers confirmed at the fair that they will soon be joining NetGalley. We can’t tell you who they are yet, but we’ll be sure to announce it just as soon as we can!

Next month it’s the turn of New York to play host to the literary world at Book Expo America. Please do stop by Booth #DZ1774 and say hello to Kristina, Susan, Lindsey and Tarah!

The unseasonably cold weather has dominated headlines throughout March, but for me I have to say it was more a blessing than a curse. With no reason to brave the outside elements, I just hibernated indoors, reading. I’ve had worse months…

For bookworms, I think there are really only two temperatures that’ll do: one, freezing cold winter outside, but loads of books to read inside by the fire; two, sweltering hot with loads of books to read by the pool. Either would be rather heavenly, to be honest – and both are far removed from the frenetic pace of the upcoming London International Book Fair.Continue reading “View from the UK”→